Colors (1988)

Some really great acting done by co-stars (Sy Richardson, Don Cheadle, Grand Bush, Trinidad Silva, Maria Conchita Alonso, etc). Some great character actors at the police station, like Seymour Cassel and Jack Nance! (Only Hopper could have wrangled a group like that!) Robert Duvall hands in a solid performance here and truly leads this film.There's plenty here to like, that's for sure. However, the script is just packed full of clichés and stereotypes. Hopper's heart might have been in the right place when he made this, but he should have taken over the picture more and rewrote the script. The last time he did that (Out of The Blue), he gave us a great film. So, I wonder if his hands were bound by the usual Hollywood elites for some unknown reason?Either way, the script is juvenile and almost insulting in its portrayal of the gang problem in LA at that time. Terrible lines were made worse by Sean Penn's absolutely abysmal performance too. His entire presence here is awkward. His character is supposed to be a kid and an outsider here, so you would think his bad acting and bland presence could work here; it does not. Maybe this is Hopper's fault? I'm not sure, but Penn really disrupts the film (the date scene in the car with Alonso was hard to sit through!).One wonders what Hopper and the same cast (sans Penn) could have turned out with an indie budget and better script written by someone with actual gang/street cred. Otherwise, this felt like a Lifetime movie.

Dennis Hopper has always been a talent, both in front and behind the camera. "Colors" could only be handled by the likes of an independent spirit like Hopper: It's tough, brutal, no watered down studio gloss, no techno effects.Both actors bring more depth to their clichéd roles than might be expected, playing off each other surprisingly well, even in moments where they are given little more to do than react. But "Colors" offers no real answers to anything. The cops are presented mostly as well-armed zookeepers, while the gang members, blessed with youth and health but not much brains, run violently about, making the story mostly a series of aimless confrontations. Art imitating life? Maybe... This allows an ending, where the now older policeman repeats an old joke to a newer one.Why do people form gangs? It's a form of socialization or group support. In some other places it could be the volunteer fire department (a replacement for the long-forgotten militia) or a church or social club. No mention of ethnic grouping, more likely in some other places. This movie does not explain why they live there or do not move away. All in all, its an average story that is somewhat educational in its characters.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

Two great performances from Robert Duvall and Sean Penn, and some great direction by Dennis Hopper gives "Colors" an engrossing quality that's still alive and well, 25 years later. Duvall is the experienced cop, still working the streets and counting the days to retirement. Penn, his rookie partner with a mean streak that borders on sadistic. Forced to work together, the two LAPD uniforms butt heads as they struggle to keep L.A.'s streets safe from the ever-worsening gang warfare."Colors" shares similarities with "To Live and Die in L.A." Though far less taut than Friedkin's signature cop film, Hopper's filming on the streets of inner-city L.A. brings loads of authenticity to the proceedings. And like Friedkin, Hopper puts the audience in the front seat during a great car chase, while the busts are in-your-face and manage to excite, even after so many intervening years. The result is a gritty cop movie that seeks to address the gang problems from both sides. Showcasing several familiar faces in their pre-fame days (Leon, Don Cheadle and Damon Wayans), and boasting a surprisingly effective Herbie Hancock score, Hopper's understated cop drama is a solid effort.7/10

This is an early attempt at what the Japanese called in the 70's to describe movies that dealt with the yakuza, a 'jitsuroku' movie. A 'true account' about crime and life in the streets and how violence ripples through the social surface. It seems a little stale now, but only because the same clichés were repeated elsewhere, probably because true to begin with. But whereas the Japanese often cast actual yakuzas in their films, Noboru Ando for example was a yakuza underboss turned famous actor, here we get Sean Penn and Robert Duvall. They have some chemistry, one playing a James Dean wild child who always fusses about his hair, the other playing a snarling Robert DeNiro with a good heart, but they go a long way to ruin whatever attempts at stark realism.Which was a limited prospect to begin with. The various gangbangers look a short step away from the cartoonish punks that populate the Death Wish films. Actors dressed up as hoodlums. It doesn't help that Don Cheadle plays the gang leader.The first half is enjoyable for what it is, a buddy cop romp through the barrios where now and then we stop to mingle with suspect characters. By the end however, so many unimaginative scenarios have piled upon it in so little visual space to breathe that it doesn't matter much who lives or dies.